Reigns continued to say that, while he is in the process of making the transition, he is too late in the game of wrestling to match Johnson. 

“My timeline, I’ve stayed in wrestling far longer than [him]. No one’s ever been like white-hot in two years and then two years later now they’re the biggest box office draw. No one’s ever done that,” he said. 

Reigns said that the template was changed with Cena’s longevity, and it became about ensuring you remained at the top of the industry for as long as possible. 

“Technically I’ve been main eventing WrestleManias since 2015,” he said. He continued to give credence to sharing the roster with Cena, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar during that time, calling it a team effort. 

“But I was billed on the top of the card so that’s 11 years now of being on top. So that’s a long body of work. It’s completely different. Yeah I hope one day to fully transition and use all the skill and tools I’ve learned in wrestling. But the way Dwayne did it was just unlike anything,” he concluded. 

Reigns will main event another WrestleMania this weekend as he looks to leverage his Royal Rumble win into a first reign with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Should he win, it will be his seventh WWE World title. Johnson won eight WWE titles during his time with the company, as well as an additional two reigns with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship post-acquisition.